The new emergency telephone number for child protection, 111, is expected to be put in use in December to receive calls and timely address children’s safety across the country (Photo plo.vn)Hanoi (VNA) - The new emergencytelephone number for child protection, 111, is expected to become operationalin December.
This number has been approved as the nationalchild protection hotline by the Ministry of Information and Communications.
“This number has the advantage of being convenient in communication, especiallyfor child sex abuse, exploitation and trafficking, and is easy to remember fordialing," said Nguyen Cong Hieu, deputy director of the Centre forConsultation and Communication Services of the Childcare and ProtectionDepartment under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).
People who call the hotline will not have to pay phone call and consultancyfees.
There will be three consulting centres in the cities of Hanoi and Da Nang, andAn Giang Province when the hotline comes into operation.
The Hanoi call centre connects and handles consultations for 28 provinces andcities in the north, while Da Nang handles calls from 16 provinces in thecentral and the Central Highlands, and An Giang serves 19 provinces and citiesin the southeast.
The MoLISA has assigned the Childcare and Protection Department to co-ordinatewith relevant agencies to manage and operate this hotline service.
Since 2004, Vietnam has used free-of-charge telephone hotline number 18001567to advise and support children, receiving over 2.5 million calls from acrossthe country.
To make it easy to remember and respond in case of an emergency, theround-the-clock 111 hotline has been set up, alongside other emergency numbers,such as 113, 114 and 115.
The current 18001567 line will still be maintained, running parallel withthe new one, 111.
"In the short term, we cannot give up the old numbers, but we will stoptheir transmission to focus on 111," Hieu told the Phap luat (Law)newspaper in HCM City.
Hiệu added that the function of 111 is similar to the number 18001567, which isto receive and respond to people needing legal advice on children, and denounceacts of abuse, violence, trafficking and exploitation.
In case of emergency, the information is classified and reported immediately tothe local police and authorities for emergency preventive measures.
For cases related to risks, answering operators will prepare documents andtransfer them to the local agencies for support.
However, Hieu said not many people know about the line 18001567 due to the longnumber and lack of communication activities.
For better operation and to receive more information and support, it isnecessary to improve the staff’s ability to provide information and services,he said.
Putting the phone number on book covers, notebooks, pens or cover of dairyproducts also helps make the hotline known, Hieu said. – VNA
VNA
